BEST BASE STATION OPTION UNDER 8 FT????

[JSTAHNKE81]

hi, im getting back into radio after about a 10 yr hiatus. i live in an apartment, but have easy access to the 3rd story roof, which is where id like to install my antenna. I figure i have about 8ft to work with without my landlord getting ralled up. So, what is my best option, ive seen little 3ft base antennas, but would i be better off with a wilson, or maybe a 102' whip? Thanks in advance for any and all help!!!!!!!

I guess anything i choose is not as good as my old a-99 in the tree, but whats gonna come closest?

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

a astroplane /top one is about 12 1/2 ft tall . not quite the 18 feet of the a-99 but 3 1/2 feet fallet than a true 1/4 wave radiator . the problem with using a 102 , or any mobile , is gonna be a ground plane . how are you planning to ground the antenna and also mount it to the building ? an a-99 would probally be less eye catching than the top one though . the m-400 is the same height as a a-99 but its all metal and has a ground plane , the top one is all metal and has a ground plane too . ive read on both these antennas to replace its screws/washers/nuts with stainless steel ones when assembling them .

good luck .

 

[W5LZ]

Depending on how the roof is covered, you could probably use a 102" whip on some kind of mount and just run several ground wire/radials laying on the roof. There are several "ifs" and "buts' with that, but it's workable. Depends on the landlord too, so good luck.
- 'Doc

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

Tips and tricks on how to build your own CB Antennas.

 

[Big Kahuna]

I agree - I'd try to build you own antenna, like a dipole. A99's and all those are way over 8' tall. You could take a 102" and try to make a dipole out of it basically.

 

[KB1TPX]

How 'bout this?

I built a vertical dipole made of 2 lengths of galvanized electrical conduit 8'8" each, held together with wood doweling driven into two ends (4'each)for reinforcement, the ground braid from the coax(RG58U) is screwed and soldered to one side and the center wire to the other side. Where all of this comes together, I sealed it with epoxy to make it waterproof. Then I fastened it to a 10' length of 2" PVC Pipe, which is fastened to the railing on my 2nd floor veranda, which puts the whole thing a good 30' in the air, up and over the peak of my roof. Works great! Got it to match well too.
I've attached a couple of photos of mine and the link from the internet site where I got the specs from. I just recalculated the length for cb/ssb use.

10 Meter Dipole - N2UHC's Radio Stuff

Mike

 

[KB1TPX]

Oh yes, I realize that this is much taller than you indicated, but it's food for thought.

Mike

 

[Highlander_821]

I like Doc's suggestion, it will probably work well. We used to make 1/4 wave verticals with a 2 by 2, some standoff insulators, some leftover wire and a short coax pigtail. We would slap them up on the roof somewhere and just drape the four 1/4 wave wire radials on the roof loosely, roughly at 90 degree angles to each other. They worked surprisingly well, almost as well as an A99 at similar height.